Mutilated Soweto boys laid to rest, grandmother and partner charged

The couple, who stand accused of the brutal killing of two Soweto boys, was formally charged with murder at the Protea Magistrates’ Court, in Soweto, on Friday 29 April.

The court proceedings took place just 6km from the Jabavu Stadium where mourners gathered for the boys’ emotional funeral service.

The boys were laid to rest at the Olifantsvlei Cemetery following the service.

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Grandmother of one of Soweto boys charged with murder

Nqobile Ndlovu, the 50-year-old grandmother of one of the children killed in Soweto, and her 39-year-old partner, Mthunzi Mzwakhe Zulu, were formally charged with the brutal mutilation and murder of six-year-old Tshiamo Rabanye and his five-year-old friend Mduduzi Zulu.

The state alleges they both acted in common purpose, that the bodies the children were mutilated and the act of murder was premeditated. The couple was charged with two counts of murder, kidnapping, perjury and defeating the ends of justice.

The accused, arrested on Wednesday (26 April), will be representing themselves.

Ndlovu and Zulu are expected to apply for bail. The case has been postponed to 5 May, to decide on a date for a bail application.

Nqobile Ndlovu, 50, leaves the dock followed by Mthunzi Mzwakhe Zulu, 39.

They have been charged with the callous murder and mutilation of #SowetoBoys Tshiamo Rabanye, 6, and his friend Mduduzi Zulu, 5.

Ndlovu is the grandmother of Rabanye on his father's side. @orrin417 pic.twitter.com/YFJEfvyrNW

— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 28, 2023

Boys’ mutilated bodies spark fear of muti killings

According to a police source speaking to TimesLIVE, their arrests came after a forensic investigation at the boys’ homes on Tuesday.

The gruesome find of the boys’ mutilated bodies on Thursday, 20 April, sent shockwaves through the country. The two friends went missing the previous evening, while playing in Thokoza park, in Rockville.

Both bodies were missing their private parts, noses and lips, sparking fear of suspected muti or ritual killings in the Rockville, White City, and Mofolo South communities.

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Gauteng premier commends cops for swift arrest

Addressing the mourners at the funeral service, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi commended the South African Police service (Saps) for the swift arrest.

“Regardless of how painful it is to their parents; the police have done their work and we need to thank them. There are those that doubted our police, there are those that hurled insults at our police.

When we met with the police we said to them, within 72 hours we must crack this case and indeed within 72 hours they managed to crack this case.

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‘Let prisons be prisons’ – Chiloane

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane also weighed in on the murder of the young boys, saying that punishment should fit the crime to act as a deterrent for the scourge of heinous crimes in our country.

Punishment must fit the crime. Perhaps we need to go back and review what we mean by a life sentence.

“Let prisons be prisons. We have a person who has caused us pain but they will go through that journey and eat, look nice, bath and be treated by doctors. They get more benefits than the families left outside,” concluded Chiloane.

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